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News Byte

Academic Social Network Raises Cash From Former Facebook Exec and Others

Tricia Duryee in Social on January 2 at 10:57 am PT

New York-based Coursekit, a social network for instructors to manage courses and interact with students, has raised $5 million in a first round. The round was led by Social+Capital Partnership, a firm started by former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya. Existing investor IA Ventures and new angel investors also participated. Coursekit, which became available in November, was founded by Joseph Cohen, 20, and two other undergraduate students at University of Pennsylvania.

News Byte

Missouri Limits Student-Teacher Social Networking

Liz Gannes in Social on August 1, 2011 at 6:00 am PT

It’s one of those laws that could write a million headlines — variations on “Missouri Bans Students and Teachers From Friending Each Other on Facebook!” So what’s really going on? As part of a broader child sexual abuse prevention bill signed July 14, the state of Missouri will soon prohibit teachers from using personal sites that allow for private conversations with current or former students — something some local teachers think is a very bad idea.

News Byte

A New Chapter for Chegg

Voices in News on March 24, 2011 at 8:18 am PT

Online textbook rental outfit Chegg is ready to take on a heavier load. The site is announcing today plans to offer a broader range of student services such as course selection advice, homework help and personalization. The expansion, taking advantage of its acquisition of CourseRank and Cramster, will advance Chegg’s social ambitions. “We know students’ class schedules, professors’ required reading and other materials in the class that are used,” said CEO Dan Rosensweig. “We have that history….Nobody else is able to bring this kind of personalized, relevant experience to students.”

News Byte

Barnes & Noble Preps a Study Buddy

Voices in News on July 12, 2010 at 10:52 am PT

With an eye on expanding its e-book influence beyond its Nook reader, Barnes & Noble today announced the August availability of NOOKstudy, a free software application for PCs and Macs that allows college students to download, annotate and manage digital texts and related material. B&N, which through a subsidiary operates 637 college bookstores in the U.S., says the program “provides students access to all of their materials–eTextbooks, lecture notes, syllabi, slides, images, trade books and other course-related documents–all in one place.”